I Am that I Am: The Based God
The word that has suddenly become popular slang of the Alt-Right is a perfect - and Biblical - description for the God of the Holy Bible.
“Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do” - Lil B
The term "based" was popularized in internet culture through the work of rapper Lil B, who used it to mean being oneself and not caring about others' opinions. However, it was later co-opted by various online communities, including those on the political right. Platforms like 4Chan and later Twitter saw "based" being used in memes and political discussions, often by individuals with alt-right leanings. Here, "based" was used to praise someone for holding or expressing a view seen as authentic or counter to mainstream liberal narratives, often associated with conservative or controversial viewpoints.
And as you’ll see me explain below, I can’t think of a better, more righteous description of the God of the Holy Bible.
RIP VAN JD
To some extent, I understand Rip Van Winkle, from the short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819 in his collection of tales titled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. As story goes, Van Winkle went to sleep in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York and woke up 20 years later, after the Revolutionary War, and found a world he didn’t recognize.
I took some Xanax and woke up about 9 months later, and then burrowed into a hole for 2.5. years. Granted, that’s short of Van Winkle’s twenty, but it seems that things change much faster than they used to. And I assure you, the world, has greatly, greatly changed in this amount of time. And, so too, has the evangelical ecosystem.
If you know anything about my story, you’ll know that I was labeled a contrarian, curmudgeon, and “caustic critic of the Southern Baptist Convention” (to quote the state’s denominational Executive Director). More than anything, I was criticized - and ostracized - for tone. No, not mainly for my ideas, or thoughts, or arguments - although for those also - but primarily for my tone. It was not what I said, but I was told a million times, “how I said it.”
In fact, tone was so commonly referred to as the reason for my blacklisting, that I wrote articles about “tone” (like this one) and we invented the term “tone police.” Thankfully, the latter caught on, and I was happy to see it added to the Urban Dictionary.
Regarding the Tone Police, I gave two examples at the time of how the concept of “tone policing” is applied:
Type 1: Two people are having an argument on Facebook, and an individual interjects as a self-appointed cyber hall-monitor, lecturing one or both of them for what they perceive to be a “bad tone.” The problem here is that focusing on tone distracts from the substantive discussion, and perceiving tone is subjective to the individual.
Type 2: A polemicist presents factual information that can be objectively proven, but someone rejects their objective facts based upon their own subjective opinion regarding the tone of the polemicist. This is fallacious, logically, because a perceived negative tone doesn’t negate factual information.
And, in a fashion that would make the tone police hit their sirens…
Tone police are people who focus on (and critique) how something is said, ignoring whether or not it is true.
They will discard a true statement simply because they don’t like how it was presented. This attitude is prevalent among emotional midgets, mental midgets, liberals and wimps.
They tend to be intolerant of any statement that isn’t couched with empty platitudes…, while thinking themselves a model of tolerance. They are often also hypocrites.
But while deep in my hole, avoiding and healing from my various catastrophes, I found a little app for my phone called iFunny. It’s riotously funny, and nothing but memes that its users upload. It’s insanely offensive and often carries very, very politically incorrect memes. And because this was before Musk bought Twitter, I was genuinely amazed that Apple and Android allowed the app to be carried by their platforms at all. It’s so rightwing, at times, its users sincerely presume its a scheme by the Feds just to know who all the radicals are.
Anyway, it’s on iFunny during the early days of my retirement that I discovered the word ‘based.’ I had to look up the term to discover its meaning. And its then that I saw, much to my surprise, that I was “based” long, long before it was cool. Here’s a video explaining the term.
But in evangelicalism, until very recently, being ‘based’ was cause for one’s immediate banishment from the community. You simply couldn’t go around expressing yourself, and saying what you were thinking, no matter how many other people were already thinking it, because it was a violation of the 11th Commandment. And that command, as fabricated as it might be, is “Thou Shalt Be Nice” (even if that means being insincere).
Every ounce of following that I had in those days, were people enamored with my capacity to just say things. Blessed by the inability to not care what people think, it always came quite naturally to me. But I recognized then, and still do, that the reason so many Christians followed my work is that they lived vicariously through my ramblings and various controversies. Why? I said what they thought, and what they wanted to say, if they didn’t have to suffer the consequences for it.
But make no mistake about it; I suffered from the basedness. When I had some infamous skirmishes with Jackie Hill Perry - the militant, black, butch lesbian who became a contributor to the Gospel Coalition - or Kyle J. Howard - the “racial trauma counselor” who absurdly claimed to have been an underground battle rapper in the Crips before being saved (he was raised in the suburbs by upper-class parents, is mostly white, and can’t pronounce the word ‘rap’ because of a terrible speech impediment) - people privately laughed but publicly rebuked.
But inwardly they also agreed that Perry, who claimed to try standing up to pee so she could feel more like a man, or Howard, who is the least oppressed black man on Earth, needed a strong dose of honest rebuke. And so, no matter how publicly I was chided for being too blunt, people still followed and supported…quietly.
And so, when I discovered the community on iFunny, which widely celebrates “basedness,” I knew I had found my people.
But then, when President Trump was shot in the face, I got back on X to find out what really had happened. And what I saw on X, from the evangelical community, made me feel very much like Rip Van Winkle. It was hard to recognize the community that I had been so ostracized from previously. Somehow, the evangelical community had largely embraced ‘basedness’ and removed from it the status of taboo faux pas.
I scrolled for hours. Did this pastor just call Christianity Today ‘gay’? Did that evangelist just use the word ‘retarded’ when referring to Evangelicals for Harris? But it wasn’t just about honest and accurate epithets. It was about brutal bluntness. The entire form of discourse had changed dramatically in that 2.5 years. It was hardly recognizable.
Myriads of articles had been written during the 12-year history of Pulpit & Pen and Protestia, from prominent theologians, opining as to whether or not theological polemics was even biblical. And now, most major online ministries had become thoroughly polemical - even primarily polemical - in nature. A war was raging, and just like that, no one cared about false niceness or fake kindness or faux civility any more. Evangelicals were just out there saying whatever they wanted to say, and expressing whatever they believed the truth to be, come what may.
Honestly, I’ve never felt happier to see what’s become of the evangelical climate. It was about time for truthfulness to reign over a peace built upon filthy compromise.
BASEDNESS EXAMINED
“Based" is often contrasted with "cringe" to describe actions or opinions. "Based" would be applied to things seen as authentic or in line with bluntness and truth, while "cringe" would be used for those perceived as inauthentic, overly politically correct, or out of touch. This dichotomy became part of the lexicon within communities that included alt-right members (that’s how idiots refer to us), where "based" was a badge of honor for those aligning with their ideology.
In the dynamic and often chaotic realm of internet discourse, the term has transcended its origins in hip-hop culture to become a pivotal concept in online dialogue.
At its core, being "based" is about authenticity. In a world where opinions can be swayed by social media algorithms, corporate agendas, or the fear of social ostracization, honest discussion requires participants to voice their genuine thoughts and feelings. When individuals are based, they're less likely to engage in virtue signaling or echo chamber discussions where only popular or safe opinions are shared. This authenticity invites a diversity of thought, which is essential for a healthy discourse.
Echo chambers—where only like-minded opinions are heard—can stifle growth and understanding. Being based encourages people to step outside these comfort zones, presenting ideas that might challenge the status quo or the majority opinion. This isn't about being contrarian for the sake of it but about bringing truth and personal conviction to the table. Honest discussion thrives when participants are willing to both share and listen to uncomfortable truths, fostering an environment where ideas are not just echoed but critically examined and debated.
The based mindset promotes critical thinking. When one speaks from a place of authenticity, they're more likely to question, analyze, and engage with information rather than accept it at face value.
Meanwhile, trust is foundational to any meaningful conversation. When people sense that others are based, they're more likely to trust in the sincerity of the dialogue. This trust creates a space where individuals feel safe to express genuine concerns, admit ignorance, or change their opinions based on new evidence or arguments. Without this trust, discussions can devolve into mere performances or battles for rhetorical supremacy rather than genuine exchanges of ideas.
Being based is not without its risks, of course —social, professional, or personal. However, the reward is a discussion landscape where honesty prevails over pretense, where genuine connections are made, and where solutions to complex issues might be more readily found. It's about valuing truth over popularity, substance over style, and integrity over acceptance.
Basedness is the antidote to the superficiality and polarization that can plague online and offline conversations. By encouraging individuals to speak from their true selves, we open up avenues for deeper understanding, mutual respect, and genuine progress in our collective understanding of the world. As we navigate the complexities of modern discourse, let's strive to be "based," not for the label's sake, but for the integrity and authenticity it brings to our interactions.
THE GOD OF BASEDNESS
The God depicted in the Bible is often described as the ultimate truth, unchanging and unyielding. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man goes to the Father but by me.” This commitment to truth, regardless of societal acceptance or contemporary moral fashion, mirrors the essence of being based. In an era where truth can be subjective or swayed by public opinion, the biblical God stands as a beacon of constancy, advocating for what is right according to divine standards rather than human consensus.
Throughout the Bible, God's actions and commandments often go against the grain of human society. From the flood in Genesis, where God decides to start anew with humanity, to the commandments given to Moses, which were radically different from the practices of surrounding cultures, God's ways frequently challenge human norms.
The God of the Bible emphasizes a personal relationship with individuals, often bypassing or critiquing the religious institutions of the day. Jesus, for instance, frequently clashed with the Pharisees, who cared about appearances. The God of the Bible cares practically nothing for appearances. God has never been into Public Relations. God has never been Seeker Friendly. God doesn’t have a publicist, telling him how to word things to keep his favorability numbers up. If a publicist tried, God would likely strike them dead with lightning.
To describe the God of the Bible as "based" might strike some as anachronistic or even irreverent. However, when considering the attributes of standing firm in truth, challenging societal norms for higher moral ground, valuing personal relationship over institutional approval, balancing justice with profound mercy, and advocating for the justice, the term captures something profound about the biblical portrayal of God. This God is not swayed by the tides of human opinion but acts according to a divine vision that often aligns with what's truly "based" — authentic, unapologetic, and grounded in eternal principles. In this light, the God of the Bible can indeed be seen as the epitome of based, providing a model for believers to live authentically in their faith amidst a world that often values conformity over truth.
Jesus told those who would hurt children that they might as well k!ll themselves by tying something heavy around their neck and jumping into deep water. God repeatedly told people to stand up and “act like men.” He banned cross-dressing. He told women to be silent and know their place (repeatedly). He inspired the Scripture in some pretty blunt (albeit not vulgar, but very ‘earthy’ and direct) language. And at no point can I find the God of Scripture caring about what anyone thought of him, ever.
In fact, one of the most based verses in all of Scripture is also one of the most significant and well-known.
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you (Exodus 3:13-14).
God’s revealed name is the most based thing one can imagine. When Moses wondered what he should tell Pharaoh, when he asked who was demanding this from him, God told him to tell Pharaoh that his name is, “I am that I am.”
Based.
He is that he is. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not. And no, he’s not going to explain that; he doesn’t owe you an explanation. He doesn’t care what you think about it. He just is the way he is.
Our God is a very, very based God.
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